When a House Becomes a Home

We spent our last Christmas at the Frazier Court house in Wheaton this past week. This is the house where Debsue grew up and we have spent many special times there. This is Mimi and Papa's house; one that carries many memories. All of our girls were able to be there for one final Christmas. Deb's dad (Papa) die about a year ago and the house is simply too big for Mimi and she is moving to Florida.

The last day we started to clean stuff out of the cabinets and off the walls so that the painter can come and strip the wallpaper. The home once stripped of the things that made it into a home seemingly transformed into a house again. A house is a building, a place to live. A home is where people relate and share life together. That place will soon transition back from a home to a house. However the memories will carry on. We experienced the same thing when we cleaned out our Aurora home and transitioned to our new home in Brecksville.

I am not surprised that Jesus uses the metaphor of our heavenly dwelling as a home. In John 14, he talks about "dwelling places" in heaven. But what made it a home was that Jesus was going to prepare it for us and ultimately it was the fact that He will be there that made it into a home. A dwelling place is pretty exciting. I remember with great anticipation seeing our new house as it was being built in Aurora. But a home is for relationships and that is what makes it special.

Joy to the World - But Not Yet

During Christmas season, we sing familiar hymns and I think we become guilty of not really even looking at the lyrics. I don't know how many times I have sang "Joy to the World" and realized most of it isn't even about Christmas or the virgin birth at all.

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

The first verse could apply to the virgin birth, but the last three verses clearly refer to the reign of Christ which is still to come. I think of what Paul says in Romans that "the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God"  (Rom. 8:19). Christ came into a broken world, but there will be a time when this broken world will be transformed, when "He comes to make His blessings flow". And that is worth singing about all year round.

All is Not Lost

Every person regardless of who they are will face adversity at some point or another. That is part of living under the curse of the fall. But it is also part of how we develop as human beings. God puts humans through adversity so that they can grow in dependence on him, but also so that they can help and encourage others.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 
2 Cor 1:3-4

A number of weeks ago I watched the movie All is Lost starring Robert Redford. I knew the premise of the movie going in, but I never realized how empty a movie can be without knowing how the characters background and how they respond to adversity. The only inkling we have in this movie of the character is the brief time in the beginning where we see a note that tells he is sorry. They could have easily put a robot in the role. There was no human character to identify with.

We need many questions answered about this guy:

• Why was in the boat making the trip?
• Who were the people that cared about him?
• What was his faith?
• Did he have regrets?

Spoiler alert - in the end he is rescued, but I found myself not really caring whether he did or not without knowing who this guy is. We root for those who go through adversity and come out better people. A persons character comes out when we see them in the crucible - in a trial by fire. As the verses say - it strengthens our relationship with a heavenly Father and with others. Otherwise, all indeed is lost.

When an Apology is Not an Apology

Deb and I attended a Christmas party this past week at a very high-end establishment in downtown Cleveland. At this party were many of the "movers and shakers" of the city of Cleveland. The service was not so hot and it was pretty skimpy on the food but we didn't think a whole lot of it at the time. We were just glad to reconnect with some good friends we have met through this organization that put on the event.

The next day we received an e-mail from the director of the organization hosting the event. She passed along an "apology" from the general manager of the host establishment (I have masked who the establishment is because that is not the point here).

Thank you for coming to XX to attend the XX event on the evening of December 2nd. I would like to apologize for any unfulfilled expectations that you may have experienced during your event.  The XX staff and leadership take pride in our guests satisfaction, and you will each be receiving a $10 gift card to come and enjoy at your leisure.  We all want to thank you for your support and business; and if you may have any direct concerns please feel free to contact me at any time.

I had to read it several times - is this really an apology? Was it possibly my unrealistic expectations that were the problem? Doesn't an apology mean we admit to doing something wrong? Sorry but I didn't see it. Further, the $10 token was a really lame attempt to buy back some level of satisfaction. Aren't most of us really appreciative of a true apology and aren't expecting some token gesture.

I was reminded that we often approach God that way when we come in repentance. We pin our sin issue on God's mismanagement of our life. We put strings on our apology. We claim to God that we are making our puny efforts. We blame the presence of others. We are like Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus Christ - remorseful but not repentant.

I find God does not respond to my so-called apologies. I have to come to Him in abject poverty of soul and truly come clean. My half-hearted apology to God doesn't cut it. Am I truly burdened by my sin? Does it threaten my relationship with God and others? If so, I need to perform radical surgery on my attitude. A man who comes to God with ready excuses is a man who is not repentant. True repentance is without regret and leads to salvation (2 Cor. 7:10).

Play to Pay

There is an expression used when you join a board of something like a company or a non-profit. It is called "Pay to Play" and it basically means that you are expected to contribute to the cause of the organization to have the privilege of being involved. I have noticed that most charities have adopted the converse of that and have incorporated a "Play to Pay" approach. Take this video for instance of Salvation Army volunteers on the streets of New York City. The old days of the gloomy guy ringing the bell have been replaced by entertainment. I have to admit I listened to these volunteers and felt more compelled to give. Why wouldn't Salvation Army be enough of a worthy cause to give in and of itself? Because it appeals to our sense of paying for something rather than giving something.





I am very glad that God does not operate on the principle of "Pay to Play". God gave us a gift that has no strings attached to it. The gift of salvation in Jesus Christ requires no performance on our part. However, the same theory that paying for something is more desirable than giving something offends us. But the giver of the gift expects nothing in return and there is nothing we could offer that could even come close to the value of the gift given. In fact, it is an insult to the giver to even attempt to pay for it. So these two principles collide which is what makes faith in Christ so hard.

My parents and in-laws over the years have given us lavish gifts, gifts that there is no way possible we could afford. I wish I could say I accepted them gratefully, but my pride made me want to pay them back. I was actually angry I received the gift. Some of us react to salvation that way. What God wants is to accept the gift gratefully with no strings. No "Pay to Play" and certainly no "Play to Pay". The gift stands alone.

Great Expectations.... Disappointing

The 2013 Cleveland Indians had a 12-16 record in the month of August and were hopelessly out of the Central race. But they stormed back in September with a 21-6 record including a 10 game winning streak to close the season. They ended up winning the American League wild card and played Tampa Bay in a one game playoff game. A 162 game season now came down to just one. The Tampa Bay Rays won the game 4-0 and just like that, it was over.

Another Cleveland euphoria sports moment followed by a bitter letdown. But after all, sports is very much a microcosm of life. We long-suffering Cleveland sports fans can identify most with the Book of Ecclesiastes. We got Lebron and Kevin Love so an NBA championship is in the bag. A recent 4 game losing streak and a 5-7 record later, maybe we aren't so sure.

The book of Ecclesiastes is a difficult book. It identifies these cycles of life that seem to inevitably end in disappointment. Gloomy days seem like the norm. But there is more there. God wants us to look at life from an eternal perspective. First, life's cycles are to be embraced because they are only part of the broader picture of eternity. God wants us to experience both (7:14). Secondly, looking forward can sometimes be futile when we should relish the joy of the present. Rejoice while we have the opportunity (2:24, 3:12, 6:14, 9:9). Finally,  go with the flow. He is not saying, don't plan. He is saying, don't get hung up on the future (11:5). You don't know what is going to happen. There are so many things we don't know. Life is to know God and to trust Him.

Called by Name

I like to say I have 12 offices to make it sound like I really am a big shot. But then I say my offices are at Panera in Brecksville, Panera in Solon, Panera in Hudson, etc. A lot of people do their work at these coffee shops.

This past week, I was at my distant office in New Albany down by Columbus. I am on the board of a company there and had to kill a few hours before my meetings in Columbus in the afternoon. It was around lunchtime so I went an ordered lunch and they give you this little buzzer tool that you put on your table for them to find you and give you your food.  I went off to the bathroom and when I came back, the young man said "I put your food on your table Dan". My immediate thought was first "how did he know my name". But then I remember that I paid with a credit card and he obviously looked at the receipt. It's not like I am famous or anything. But nevertheless I was impressed that he called me by name.

Fast forward an hour or so and I finished my meal. I then went up to the counter and my friend was now behind the counter. He says to me "what can I get for you Dan?". Again, he calls me by name. I told him how impressed I was that he remembered my name and called me by name. He then asked me where I was from and we actually had a conversation.

I compare that experience to one where you put your name in for a reservation in a restaurant and when they are ready to seat you, they yell out "Dan, table for two!". Or where we are in a gathering and we have a name tag like the one above to try to start a conversation. My friend called me by name as an expression of personal connection not just as a way to identify me.

As I pondered that throughout the week, I was reminded that God does indeed call us individually by name. This same God who constructed the universe, who has much bigger issues to contend with than me actually knows me more intimately than I know myself and calls me by name.

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained; what is man that you take though of him, and the son of man that you care for him. (Psalm 8:3-4)

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thoughts from afar ( Psalm 139:1-2)

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. “When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. “And a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-5)

My Panera friends nice attempt at a personal connection was well appreciated because it reminded me that my God knows me well and He calls me by name.

Starter Tires

Our normal path to work and church leads us down Riverview Road through the national park. This summer, that road was seemingly constantly under construction. One night coming back from Blossom around 11 PM, we hit an exposed part of the road and heard the sickening sound of a flat tire. We pull off the side of the road and look at the tire. It was certainly flat. We were about two miles from home. I did a mental evaluation. It would be so much easier to change the tire at home. So we made the decision to try to drive on the flat tire. We got about another half mile down the road and now started hearing metal upon metal. No way to continue so we pull off the side of the road. I examine the tire and it quite literally is in shreds like below.

We were able to put the spare on. The next day, I went to the Toyota dealer and got a new tire. The service counselor (that is what they call them now) told me that the original tires had about 15,000 miles of expected life but the "new" tire would have a 60,000 mile warranty. She explained to me that the original tires "starter tires". They are only expected to last a brief amount of time before they are going to have to be replaced. It is a way that car dealers save money by putting tires on that won't last as long. We see this in other items too like printers. To bring the cost of printers down, manufacturers put "starter print cartridges". Cartridges are where they make their money anyway.

As I have worked with men over the years in discipleship, I have noticed a progressing trend towards "starter Christianity". It means that someone has experienced true transformation but they lack depth of knowledge and true foundation. They are like the seeds mentioned by Jesus in the parable of the Sower and the Seed that fall and have no firm root and the sun stunts their growth (Matt 13:1-23). This is a conscious choice they make. Well known author and founder of Man in the Mirror ministries, Pat Morley has commented that depth of faith in men always have to do with two things - amount of time in the bible and amount of time spent with other men of faith. He says he can almost guarantee problem areas if both of those are lacking.

I have a friend going through a difficult time right now. He has said that he is doubting his faith. But this same guy does not spend time in the word and is not being around stronger men to disciple him. Of course he is having issues. We in America expect that faith to be like the drive-through window where we place our order and then go with the meal when God offers a sumptuous sit down steak meal. Me - I want the steak meal.

There is no quick fix to depth of soul issues. But there is a fix. First, it is daily reading, meditating, memorizing, studying, inhaling of God's word, the Bible. It does not have to be hours, but it certainly needs and must be more than a few minutes. Secondly, it is being around and being challenged by older, more mature men in the faith. I am so thankful for my mentor when I was a young Christian. Pastor Dean Brdlik discipled me and set a firm foundation for years to come. Even when I was at my most carnal ways, I was grounded. Even still today, I am challenged and motivated by my more mature Christian brothers and I try to be that for other men.

You get what you invest in. I couldn't know my wife if I spent only a few minutes with her and wasn't listening. Same with God - your investment of time yields a deep relationship that will carry you through the trials and travails of life. Start now - don't wait.

Assuming the Best in People

This past week, I had a series of meetings out of town. They were kind of tightly orchestrated by me and I felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing between one meeting and another. The second meeting was at a coffee shop with a potential business partnership for our company. It was with a person I had never met but had just corresponded with via e-mail. I got there and waited, and waited, and waited. I called and left multiple voice mails as well as sent an e-mail. Nothing! I knew his office was right down the road so I knew it couldn't be traffic. I was even more irritated because now I had to drive to the other side of town to make the next appointment.

Amazing what goes through your head. Anger is mostly what went through my head. I was stood up! I wanted so much to fire off an e-mail (a standard non-personal way of venting) and spew venom on him. In a complete act of grace, the Holy Spirit nudged me not to do that. What if something happened to him or his family? Give him the benefit of the doubt. The Lord brought to mind a story I heard from Patrick Morley. A man was traveling in a train and his kids were running around like crazy. One of the passengers observed this and so wanted to confront the man over the unruly behavior of his children. He asked him why his kids had so much energy. The man somberly looked up and said "Yes I guess they are running off steam but their mom passed away today". I took it to heart and so I waited.

The next day, I got the explanation. He was in the emergency room for 11 hours with potentially serious issues. I said "thank you Lord" because He held me back from my proclivity to assume the worst in people. Why do we assume the worst in people? Some people think we have to to protect ourselves because after all it is a dog-eat-dog world out there. If you don't you will get taken advantage of. That could happen, but to me the alternative is far worse. To live a life in constant suspicion has wear and tear on the human psyche. Assuming the best in people will get you let down from time to time, but overall the impact is far more positive.

I am so glad I let that situation explain itself. Even if the man had legitimately blown the meeting off, I am better off for not sounding off in anger. Bitterness of soul keeps us from healthy relationships  with God and our neighbors. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that if you call someone "Raca" which in our vernacular is something like "stupid idiot", you are guilty of the Supreme Court and anyone you says "you fool" is guilty of fiery hell (Matthew 5:22-23). We need supernatural authority and power to prevent us from going off on people and I am so glad God save me in that way this week.

A Beautiful Harmony

I am not much of a singer. I have an ok voice that breaks down easily into falsetto and mismatched notes. Earlier in my life, I sang in the church choir (when we attended much smaller churches), but I was never quite comfortable. I can only barely read music and am very reliant on being by someone else who can.

However, you do not have to be a great singer to enjoy the harmonizing and worship of being in the presence of God's people lifting up the love of God through Jesus Christ in song. Three times yesterday I was in the presence of God's people lifting up the message of the gospel through song. In the morning, I attended a men's breakfast at Christ Community Chapel and we gathered after breakfast in the sanctuary and sang praises to God.


In the afternoon, we attended the Saturday evening church service and of course part of the service was worshiping God  through song. Finally, later in the evening we met with our "flocks" group. This is a group of people we have been meeting with for years and years. Our kids grew up together and many of them are friends. We started out all in the same church as a group, but now span different churches. But we still get together for fellowship, worship, studying the Bible, and prayer.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col 3:16).

Singing is the way we can reach out to God and express the love we have for Him. We can certainly do that individually, but when done in community, it expresses both the fellowship we have with God and the fellowship we have with one another. In other words, the true essence of relationship is both vertical (with God) and horizontal (with one another). Worshiping through song best conveys that essence.

I find it especially uplifting to hear men praising God. Debsue and I were talking about it and there is something powerful about men singing in unison to God. With women, it is more a sense of beauty - with men, it is more a sense of power and strength. 

be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to  God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the  fear of Christ. (Eph 5:18-21)

The Chocolate Island

I recently attended a conference in Pittsburgh where they had a "chocolate island". They might as well have moved crack in front of an addict. If that wasn't enough, the lead delicacy was chocolate covered pretzels. Now I did not move my chair and stand there just piling the food into my waiting mouth. I was much more subtle than that. I would walk around the exhibits, then purposely meander over to the chocolate island and sample a few more. Then I would walk around a little more and repeat said process. This occurred throughout the day.

It was not hard to imagine that by the end of the day I was not feeling all that great. It did not seem to me that I overindulged. I dealt with the temptation in bite-sized increments, but over time it wore down my immune system. At the end of the day, I had a two hour drive home and I was very concerned about falling asleep at the wheel. I had to pull off of the road and take a nap. Such were the repercussions of my "sugar high" which came crashing down. I don't think I felt very well for several days afterwords.

Such is the nature of sinful habits. They are very insidious. They creep up on you and gain a foothold. Before you know about it, they completely envelop your mind to where there is nothing else to think about. I think that is precisely what James meant when he said "but each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. (James 1:14-16). 

It used to surprise me when alcoholics would say that they haven't had a drink in XX years. What harm could one drink do? Answer, a lot. A friend and co-worker does not eat processed sweets at all. Why? Because he knows as he says that he cannot eat just one sweet - he will eat a whole lot of them. Now for me, sweets are a problem but there are many more habits that wreak havoc with my mind and pull me away from Christ. Believe me when I say that the enemy knows your weakness and what your "chocolate island" is.

The answer is not out of our own will to combat the chocolate islands of life. It requires a supernatural filling of God's Holy Spirit. That is why after a verse like James has, it says "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17). Or when Paul says "Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). Or "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your heart to God (Col. 3:16). For every hurdle, there is a spiritual answer.

God provides the answer to our chocolate islands and it involves transformation, not our willpower. Our willpower will get us to a smaller sample size, but will not eradicate the problem. God wants us to come to him and he will supernaturally enable us to not avoid the temptation but overcome it.

What if I Couldn't Remember?

In this morning's Plain Dealer, there was an article about a woman who had had a traumatic brain injury at age 22 which caused her to lose all of her memory. Su Meck wrote a book about the experience called "I Forgot to Remember: A Memoir of Amnesia".  Most amnesia has limited effect both in its severity and in its length of time. Su Meck has what is called retrograde amnesia and results in no previous memory.  One of my favorite movies is 50 First Dates which has a similar theme as the character had no memory beyond each day. Here is a funny clip from the movie.

Communion is the act of remembering what Jesus has done on the cross. Scripture says we are to "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). It would be really hard to understand the nature of the Christian life without a backward look at a specific time and place. This was a real event and it would be impossible to have a relationship with God without the ability to look back upon the event.

Su Meck found herself unable to remember anything from the past. It deeply impacted her relationships with her friends and family. The focal points were all of the sudden gone. Memories of childhood, or family events, of even her own marriage and kids suddenly erased.

Sometimes I treat the historical death of Jesus like that. It is like my own version of retrograde amnesia. It is so vital to remember - to look back. I think God knows our temptation to put this event on the back burner. Communion draws us back to the event in history that reconciled us to God. We must never forget what God has done for us. Scripture further says we are not to "diss" (my words) Communion by treating it an unworthy manner (1 Cor. 11:27). If I don't believe what it is and what it represents, I am putting myself under judgment. That is why coming to Communion requires self examination. I look at the gap between my sin and what God had to do to reconcile Himself to me. Purposeful remembering is vital.

Oh S__T!

We own a 13 year old dog named Maxwell who has to be one of the greatest dogs of all time. He is obedient, smart, sensitive, and fun. As he is getting up there in age, I dread the day we have to put him down. I have had a lot of good dogs and he has to be the best. Max does not do a lot wrong.



One day Deb saw something on the kitchen floor and went to pick it up thinking it probably was a piece of food. The reaction and horror set in then when she realized that it was poop. Her reaction in a loud voice was OH SHIT! I had to use the exact word in this family friendly blog because no other word could say it in this case. She quickly through the poop where it belonged and washed her hands as fast as she could. Me - I had to avoid the process of snickering. Our dog rarely poops in the house so this was unexpected, an anomaly. 

My dad once owned a dog Xena which was completely incontinent. That dog routinely pooped on the carpet. When we visited them, you really had to watch where you were stepping. My dad would rise early in the morning searching for poop to pick up. It was so routine that on occasion we would catch him picking up the new found poop with his bare hands.

Sin should horrify us just like the reaction Deb had. Horror should be quick and confession should immediately follow. But too often we let in become a routine part of our lives like the situation my dad was in. Crap has so pervaded our lives that it has become routine. If it is routine, then it becomes part of us so easily. While God has promised to forgive us of sin (1 John 1:9), sin routinely confessed becomes besetting sin. That is, the impact of confession is like the routine of crap pick up. It does not restore us to the place and standing we are in Christ.

So what? What is the impact? A life that is unfulfilled, a fellowship that is broken with God and others, a lack of joy, a slavery to sin. You cannot make sin routine and expect that God will use your life to the fullest. Let sin horrify you and break your heart. Let God wash over your sin completely. Let God transform you to what you truly are in Jesus Christ.

The Towpath Diaries: Rest

Some people use the Towpath for nice, slow leisurely walks or as a social time. Some people use the Towpath to take pictures of the scenery or the wildlife. Many people use the Towpath as a path for exercise. The Towpath supports all of those. But there are also places where you can stop and enjoy the beauty of this place. I like to stop and observe the people fishing in the Cleveland Metroparks.

Yesterday, I was up in this area as it was just a beautiful day. I stopped around this same area and just meditated on its tranquil beauty. Usually I have my tunes on but it was best at the time to take the headphones off and just listen. Much of this area in the Cleveland area of the Metroparks is industrial, but yet it still is spectacular.  There is a place where a railroad bridge spans high above and I like to just listen to the sounds of the train as it goes by.

But without a doubt, my favorite place of rest is the town of Peninsula, population 565. Peninsula sits in the middle of the national park. It has two stop lights, a bunch of little shops, two restaurants, and Century Cycles. At one point, it was a bustling canal boat stop—home to several mills, stone quarries and boat yards, five hotels and 14 bars until 1887. You can still see the remnants of multiple factories in Peninsula. Over 20 places are listed in Peninsula from the National Landmark of Historic Places. I always find the name rather odd as it isn't a true peninsula. One of my favorite memories is when we had an office in Peninsula.

Deb and I occasionally would take a bike ride and we would stop at the Winking Lizard and have lunch. Usually we would have something that would just sit heavy in our stomach like a burger which did not help the rest of our ride. But boy it tasted good going down.

Rest is a word embedded in the Bible. God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). Was He worn out and needed the break? No, He was establishing a pattern for the work cycle. We can't just work, work, work without taking time to stop, pause, and reflect. That is what God was doing; reflecting on the creation that He had just made.

Rest is also a word used to describe the endless ceasing of works to try to establish ourselves as good in front of a holy and righteous God and other people. Unlike the temporary rest of stopping from labor, this is a permanent rest. I think of someone who is endlessly striving to exercise to keep their body in tip-top shape. But no matter how much you exercise, you can't stop the cycle of bodily degeneration. It is a striving that is useless (I am not against exercise, believe me). Jesus said you can enter into His rest (Matthew 11:28-29) which means the permanent rest that comes from believing in the grace of God through Jesus. The concept of rest is a theme repeated and expanded in Hebrews 4.

The process of rest is still purposeful. Deb's folks had a sign at their summer cottage which said "Come and rest awhile". It is an invitation. You have to come and take what is already yours for the taking. We feel good when we offer to do the dishes after a meal and the host or hostess just says "I've got it, just rest". But we have to accept the invitation to rest. Are we prepared to do this?

The Towpath Diaries: The Valley

The Towpath Trail winds along the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The valley is a gently rolling ride with few hills. We live in Brecksville so it is always nice to get to the trail - it is a fairly steep ride down.  The problem is pretty much no matter where you live, you have to go back up from the valley (unless you live in Peninsula - more on that next week) to go back home. When we lived in Aurora, there weren't too many steep hills where we lived. When we moved to Brecksville, it became a much tougher adjustment to conquer hills. Even today, I had a heck of a time getting back up the hills to get home. Nice going out, tougher coming back. Muscles ache, trouble catching breath. 

I remember cycling with the more devoted cyclists from Christ Community Chapel. They had a day where they would cycle in and out of the valley seven times to train. Not for me - I prefer flat. Nevertheless to get to the nice ride down Riverview Rd. or the Towpath, it requires a climb back.

Valleys are like that - we wonder how we got there. And yet there we are anyway. Valleys are especially tough because the way back out almost seems insurmountable. Sometimes sin puts me in the valley. Sometimes it seems like a vicious attack from the evil one who loves to attack us at our weakest most vulnerable moment. Inevitably, a valley precedes a moment of summit. God is training us to rely on Him to carry us out of the valley. One of my favorite Psalm is the 23rd Psalm. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.". 

One of the things someone taught me to get out of the valley is to set small goals. Get to the next plateau, go 20-50 yards, but keep moving. Today, I was climbing out of the valley and the last few hills did me in because the obstacle looked too menacing. I did not apply that principle. Recently, I felt completely in the valley and I was having pity party after pity party. Then I blamed God - how could you do this to me? I have found that this principle of focusing on the next thing is really more  a matter of living life day by day. Don't get overwhelmed. Jesus said, "Do not be anxious".  Paul said "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

I have found that God does not resent requests for "fleece" moments. This follows the pattern of Gideon in the book of Judges. God shows Gideon His presence through little answers to prayer. For me, it might be showing me the power of trials, it might be showing me that what I expected is not what God expected, or that relationships matter more than circumstances.

Inevitably, valleys are a means to strengthen us and toughen us up. More importantly, it is a means to fully trust God who always wants what is best for us. Do we trust him?

Labor Day Traditions

I love holiday traditions. Our family has established a number of them that are unique to each holiday. Labor Day may be one of our most favorite because we go to the "Great" Geauga County Fair. We have attended a number of fairs over the years, but this one always stands out. I don't know what in particular in might be, but I suspect it is a number of things. Geauga County is a mostly rural county so you get an interesting mix of people from Amish to yuppies.

Then there are the animals - lots of them. Barn after barn of them. We also enjoy relishing in the food that is really bad for you, but we eat once a year. At the Geauga County Fair, we eat onion rings and 4-H milkshakes. We used to eat gyros too but now that seems just a little over the top. We usually went on Monday and got there early before it was crowded. This year, we went on Saturday and there were a lot of people and it was hot. Our tradition was to go counter-clockwise starting in the agricultural exhibits, then winding our way through the animals. The kids would start bugging as at that time to eat. After the animals, it was the gorging on the food. Finally, we would end up in the book barn where we would indulge in buying older library books for $1 a bag. On the way back, we would stop in the arts and crafts building.

I love the traditions of family. Now that are kids and grown and scattered, I see no reason to stop. While we vary it up a little (going Saturday and starting with the onion rings), we still follow the path we set out long ago and relish in the past and the current. Usually we see people we know but for whatever reason yesterday we didn't. It is a time to enjoy family and the blessings of life in NE Ohio.

Celebrating a Life in Ministry

A 23 year old young man walks into a small church. He is a new believer in Christ. He understands the change in his life, but he doesn't know totally what it means. It is so vital that he get exposed to someone who is mature in the faith. He needs someone to not only explain to him what a relationship with Christ is like, but to model it in how he lives his life.

If you haven't figure it out by now, the 23 year old young man was me. It was 1983 and I had just moved back to Cleveland and I was looking for a bible believing, bible teaching church. I found a small church through of all things the newspaper. I attended Little Church in the Vale. When I walked in, I immediately noticed I stood out. I think I was the only one under 30. A number of people took me under their wing including a gregarious older man who just effused love by the name of Bill Banfield. Bill was just one of those guys who seemed like he was always upbeat. The pastor of that church taught me how to read and study God's word, but it was Bill Banfield who taught me how to conduct myself in love (still learning), how a godly marriage looks, and how to raise a family with Christ as the center.

I married that pastor's niece and we raised our young family in that church. I dug the following video out of our family archives. It is a short snipped of Vacation Bible School in 1991. The theme was "Sonward Ho", kind of a western motif. Bill is the one leading the kids in singing "Good News". The little girl I zoom in on is our daughter Ashley. Our kids still remember Sonward Ho.

While we left the church a few years later, we never forgot Bill and Ada. Today we celebrated their retirement of Bill as an elder of the church. I got to tell Bill how much he meant to me as that young man. Today, I try to pour myself into other men just like Bill did to me. Bill of course led the singing tonight and I captured Bill leading us in "Oh For a Thousand Tongues to Sing". Brought me back to that day I walked in the church in 1983.

Bill is not done with ministry. As he said today, he is not old, he is just getting older. As he is spending more and more time with his extended family in North Caroline (10 great grandchildren), he knew when to step down. But he simply is transitioning to a new phase of ministry. I am grateful for men and woman like Bill and Ada and it challenges me to be more like them in discipling others.

The Towpath Diaries - Living Water

The Towpath trail follows along the Ohio and Erie Canal gateway.  The canal, built between 1825 and 1832, provided a successful transportation route from Cleveland, on Lake Erie, to Portsmouth, on the Ohio River. The canal opened up Ohio to the rest of the settled eastern United States. It follows along the Cuyahoga River where the river can range from rushing (not level 4 rapids, but pretty fast for a river) to almost stagnant.  More the former since we have had so much rain this summer.

People generally love water. Homes built along water or even with a view of the water tend to sell at much higher prices than those that are even a block away from water. Along the towpath, there are many views like the one above of the Cuyahoga. I love how therapeutic the sound of water can be. This morning, I was biking in the Bedford Reservation which adjoins the National Park by Valley View and just took a quick 10 second video of Tinkers Creek.

It is not surprising therefore to me that the word picture Jesus uses to describe Himself is "living water". A woman came to draw stagnant water from the well in John 4. Her daily routine required that she must do this to relieve thirst. Jesus says that He is living water that can perpetually satisfy the thirst within us. Parasites form in stagnant water. I get the word picture of smelly, contaminated pools of water. However, the process of living water going over rocks cleanses the water. The perpetual motion of the water over rough surfaces makes it alive. Even the dirtiest of water can be made alive if it is kept in perpetual motion. God is an active change agent so the water is constantly cleansing and renewing us and the parasites within us.

The living water does require one action however and that is to come to it and ask for it. The Cuyahoga does not come to you to enjoy it - you must go to it. Your action is simple - just ask God for it. God so much wants you to experience the living waters of salvation that come through Jesus Christ.

The Towpath Diaries - From Junk to Beauty

I love to ride the Towpath Trail. For those who don't know the Towpath, it runs 85 miles north to south through the Erie Canalway. I can pick it up through Brecksville Metroparks reservation. I love to ride either north and connect to Cleveland Metroparks or south to Akron. It is a beautiful ride regardless and so peaceful.

I am awed by a sense of God's beauty as I go through this place. Many times, my heart is brought back to how God works in the life of his children through the wonder of nature, His handiwork. So consequently, I am thinking through yet another series to match up what we see every day.

In the early days of the Towpath, there was a automobile salvage yard that existed around mile marker 28 of the Towpath.  In the early 1980's that area was reclaimed, cleaner up and now is a thriving bird sanctuary and beaver marsh. I can't find pictures of the original auto salvage yard, but I can imagine it looked like this.

And God turns it into this.

As I was riding today, I noticed a Great Blue Heron about 5 feet from the bridge that goes over the marsh.

 I was reminded by how God takes junk and turns it into beauty. God does not create junk. But sin taints us and mars the landscape of our soul. Junk is deposited and what we have left is a salvage yard. There may be good pieces in there, but you have to find them.

But a life redeemed by Christ "reclaims" that junk and creates a new soul (2 Cor 5:17). The "old has passed and the new has come". If you look at the marsh, it is hard to imagine that there was a junkyard there. But over time, God through nature redeemed the marsh. He loves to reclaim and renew lost souls that have become a junkyard.

The first step is to let him come into your life and start the reclamation project. This act of faith was needed on the part of those who purged the junk. God simply requires you do nothing more than ask Him of obedience and faith to clean you up. God is in the business of renewing junkyards.